Carols of Christmas
by ArtyandTintinFan
Summary: ONESHOT: Holly is staying at Fowl Manor for Christmas and while she is there, Holly discovers one of Artemis's talents that she never knew about. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. WARNING: Contains Hartemis. I rated this K for a precaution, not because I would initially put something like that in here. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!:D


**A/N Hehehehehehehehehehe….Hello my friends! Yeah, I know I'm supposed to be writing the next chapter for Frozen Summer, but it's Christmas and I thought I should write up this little short. Anyways, this is something I thought about after reading Christmas Piano by ArmedWithAPen (which an AWESOME name!). It kind of is the same, but with my own twists! So I'm not copying! If you have read that fanfic and believe that I am copying ArmedWithAPen, please let me know and I will take this story off. (Though I hope I won't have to.) All right, here it is! Enjoy and merry Christmas! XD**

Christmas was Holly's favorite holiday.

That is, a Mudman's holiday. She had never really celebrated the holiday until now. The elf had seen decorations and the frantic shopping of the season when she was above ground on Recon missions, but other than that Holly hadn't known anything more about the wondrous time of the year.

The elf had been invited over to her human friend's house for the holiday, and with a quick swipe of a aboveground pass from Trouble's desk (as well as a irritating flight to Fowl Manor with Foaly babbling in her ear), Holly was at the front door of Fowl Manor, shivering in the snow. She rapped on the door and waited. Holly heard a thump and a patter of feet.

"Mom! Arty's fairy friend is here!" Beckett, Holly thought with a smile. "Well, let her in!" cried a voice that Holly recognized as Angeline Fowl. She then heard a click and the door was thrown open, revealing a blonde haired four year old boy. Behind him was another boy much like him, only this one was looking more sophisticated in a neat outfit, much unlike his twin brother's.

"Hi Beckett! Hello Myles," greeted Holly. Beckett smiled and jumped up and down with excitement and his brother coolly regarded Holly. "Hi Holly! Are you going to play with me?" asked Beckett as Holly was swept inside by his little hands.

Holly grinned at the boy and was graciously saved to answer by Angeline, who walked in right as Holly was being mobbed by Beckett. "Hello Mrs. Fowl." Holly gasped out as Beckett hugged her and pulled her away to the couch. "Hello dear." Angeline greeted her with a smile, as she ordered Beckett to play somewhere else with Myles. Both boys ran off, and Holly was gratefully able to stand up straight.

She looked up to Angeline with a grateful words on her tongue, but that all dissipated when she noticed the manor around her. The whole interior of the house was covered in Christmas decorations. There was a large noble fir tree in the corner covered in white lights, beautiful ornaments, and sparkling tinsel covering the green limbs.

As she gazed around the rest of the home, Holly saw evergreen garlands furnishing mantels and over doorways. A long garland was twisted around the stairway railing and sweet smelling candles burned in every corner. The refreshing smell of fresh cookies wafted from the kitchen and Holly heard Juliet's voice drifted from the room, as she presumably took a cookie sheet from the oven.

"The cookies are ready, Mrs. Fowl!" Angeline smiled and called over her shoulder, "Thank you Juliet!" She then turned to Holly who was still awed by the decorations. "Like the decorations, dear?" She asked the elf in a pleasant voice. "Very much." Holly responded, still gazing around. Angeline continued, drawing Holly's attention back to her. "I'm glad. Come, I'll show you to your room." She beckoned. "You know, I was very happy when Artemis announced you were coming."

"Really?" asked Holly, following the woman as she led her down a hall laden with scented candles. "Oh yes! I am so glad Artemis finally found someone he fancies enough that he would invite them over to stay for the holidays." At this Holly blushed. "O-oh, well, thanks…" she stammered, still abashed at the simple statement.

Angeline stopped at a door and said cheerfully, "Here you are, dear. Feel free to explore after you are done settling down." With that, the woman swept gracefully away down the hall again. Holly looked around the place see had been led into and saw a tidy room, plainly furnished with a desk, several picture frames, and a queen size bed. The room was a dark shade of green and a window laced with curtains a lighter shade of green showed a pretty scene of snow and trees in the distance.

Holly peered out the window for a little bit, admiring the snow, then flopped on the bed with a satisfied groan. She decided that first she would change out of her uniform, take a short nap (seeing it was only 10 am) and then explore the massive Manor. She did so, and collapsed onto the bed after changing into comfortable change of clothes.

Holly woke from her refreshing nap around 1 pm and rolled from the bed, stomach complaining for food. She ventured into the kitchen to find Juliet and her brother Butler cooking up what looked like brownies. The elf received a good dose of hugging from Juliet, who was delighted to see her employer's elfin friend. Holly then was treated to gingerbread cookies, made earlier by Butler.

The elf was engaged in a very interesting conversation with Juliet, with some remarks put in by Butler, about the decorations in the Manor. Apparently, Angeline was big on decorations and holidays being celebrated with family and friends. Holly finally escaped from Juliet (with the help from Butler) and walked off, carrying an extra gingerbread cookie (also from Butler) as she walked around the Manor.

Holly decided that she would look for Artemis, since she hadn't seen him yet. It shouldn't be so hard, seeing that he was usually in his study or the library. This was proven to be wrong. Holly couldn't seem to find her human friend; even though she looked in every possible place he could be and asked Butler after searching fruitlessly.

After some while, Holly was still wandering the halls when she heard music. _Odd_, she thought. _I don't remember hearing music on downstairs…_ She followed the sound and it led her down the hall to a large door at the end of the hall she was in. Holly pressed her ear to the door and heard the soft music of a piano. It was a beautiful slow song, sounding almost like snow falling on a quiet winter day.

Holly quietly and easily opened the door and peered in. The room inside was large and airy, and had a simple yet wonderful feeling. At the end of the room from where Holly stood, there was a huge window letting the afternoon light shine through. The window was fitted with light-weight, cream colored curtains that hung from a brass holder. The floor was polished hardwood that gleamed in the sun. Around the room Holly noticed an assortment of instruments, varying from woodwinds to strings and guitars to clarinets.

_So this must be the music room!_ Thought Holly. She slipped through the door and her eyes fell upon a figure sitting at the piano, fingers flying across the black and white keys. The piano was positioned just so that she couldn't see the person who was playing. Holly could see that the person was wearing an Armani suit and had jet black hair slicked back.

_Ah ha!_ Holly thought. _So this is where Artemis is hiding! _Indeed it was, because as she got closer, Holly could see that the figure much resembled her human friend. She decided not to announce her arrival right away but waited and listened to the piano, as she pictured winter mornings and afternoon snowball fights in the music.

Holly was shaken from her daydreaming as the music stopped and Artemis stirred out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face her friend, and laughed to see his amused yet confused face. "Hello Arty!" she said as she walked over to the piano seat and motioned for the boy to move over. He did so, and Holly sat down next to him.

"Hello to you too, Holly. How long have you been here?" Artemis asked folding his hands casually in his lap. Holly answered, "Since 10 am." "Really? Why didn't you come see me?" he mock pouted. Holly laughed. "Well, first Beckett almost captured me, and although he tried and nearly succeeded, your mother saved me. She showed me to my room and I decided that I would take a nap." Artemis smiled. "Shocker. Even I would have taken a rest if I had to fly through a snowstorm." He said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Holly exclaimed as she punched her friend playfully in the shoulder. Artemis laughed, and Holly sat for a second, entranced with the sound. She had never realized that he could sound so…so relaxed and happy. Artemis caught her look, and frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding concerned. "N-nothing. It's just that your laugh sounds wonderful." She blushed as the words escaped her mouth.

Artemis blinked then smiled at his best friend. "Same to you, Holly." He said softly and almost gently. Holly felt her heart give a flutter. Why was that happening? Artemis turned back to the piano and plunked out a sweet tune Holly recognized as Jingle Bells. She smiled as she watched his fingers fly across the keys like they were born to play.

"How long have you been playing?" she asked quite suddenly. Artemis continued to play as he answered absentmindly, "Oh, since I was three years old." Holly's jaw dropped. "Three years old?! Wow!" She glanced at her friend with a new respect. Artemis looked over at her with mild surprise. "I thought you knew."

Holly shook her head. "No. Never in all the years I've known you, you never played or mentioned it." Artemis grinned and began to play a quick upbeat song Holly knew was Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. "Although," she continued, "I always imagined you could play piano." "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. I mean, you're a genius, son of a millionaire, and world renowned chess master. You're like the piano also. Sleek, black, and simple." Artemis's fingers continued to play out the song, although his smile grew wider at every statement Holly said. They were silent for a while, watching the snow fall outside the window and listening the song Artemis played.

Holly unconsciously laid her head on Artemis's shoulder as they sat together. She could feel the boy stiffen momentarily, then relax, quietly switching over to plink out the soft melody of Silent Night on the piano. The elf beside him sighed, and snuggled closer to him.

The next two minutes were a lovely and quiet time, Artemis playing the soft slow song and Holly leaning on her friend's shoulder, listening to the music. As Artemis played out the last notes, Holly sat up from leaning on his shoulder and looked over at her human friend.

Artemis looked at her, his mismatched eyes softening at the elves gaze. "What?" he whispered. Holly shook her head slowly. "Nothing. Just admiring the light on your face and the color in your eyes." "Really?" he whispered quietly as he leaned closer. "Yes…" She was cut off as Artemis closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

Holly closed her eyes and kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She vaguely felt his hands on her waist. She hugged him tightly and felt him return the embrace. They parted lips, arms still around each other. Both gazed into each other's mismatched eyes. A smile curled on Holly's lips and she said, "You're still holding me, you know." He returned her smile. "I know." He leaned in again and kissed her again.

Unbeknownst to the two, someone was watching them. Butler watched Artemis and Holly from the door and gave a small smile. _I knew this would eventually happen. Juliet will be thrilled! _

**A/N HARTEMIS! YAY! You're welcome, Cynthia! XD Anyways, review please and tell me what you think. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!**


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